Big Hanna now ready to fly with Swedish Armed Forces

Dec 5, 2017

Big Hanna is now ready to accompany the Swedish Armed Forces on missions abroad which means we are o.k. with a temperature range from -46ºC to +49ºC, 3-100% humidity, snow loads, storms, sand, dust, heavy rainfall and that is just the climate specs.

The climate specs were solved by putting the Big Hanna into a container rebuilt by OMP srl so for us this was easy! Getting a model T240 into a container however with space enough for staff to feed the machine and walk around was not quite as easy. It was a tight fit and we had to make some alterations, but we also managed to squeeze in a bin lift for easier feeding and a biofilter that will take away the smell! As you can see from these pictures there is no room for having a cup of coffee in this container.

The container with the Big Hanna is part of a system that includes an incinerator, equipment for safely containing hazardous waste and a recycling station. The system was supplied to FMV, a civil authority under the Swedish Ministry of Defence that provide the Swedish Armed Forces with the material needed to fulfil their missions. The system will primarily be used by the Swedish Armed Forces when deployed abroad and will be operational in the primary camp, supporting all units that are stationed there. The aim is for the camp to be self-supportive when it comes to waste. All equipment is fitted into containers in order to ensure mobility of the system. The Swedish Armed Forces missions overseas primarily involve peacekeeping troops supporting security efforts and they now got the equipment to make sure that the environmental impact of waste created in their camp is next to nothing.

The mobility or rather transportability of the system was a big issue in the procurement process. In 24 hours the system must be ready for transport. Transporting the system must be possible on road, by rail, by boat and by air. We were asked to present experience of transporting the Big Hanna 8000 km on road whereof 1000 km in terrain. With installations in more than 35 countries this was easy, but we have never had a flying Big Hanna. So, a computer simulation was made, luckily the machine didn’t have to fly on its own but only be transported in a plane. Reinforcements to manage the g-forces were made and the cylinder will be secured by straps during transport so now it can fly safely.

Being in the army is not new to Big Hanna. The Swedish Armed Forces used Big Hannas in Camp Victoria in Kosovo during the Balkan conflict, there is a machine in an UNMIS camp in South Sudan and there are more machines out there but usually the military don’t talk about their composters much. Apart from the New Zealand Defence Force, Devonport Naval Base that let a television crew make a story about their machine. We can only hope that there will be a story like this about the Big Hanna in the Swedish Armed Forces in the future.
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